Help Wanted
by LiteratiAngel
Summary: This is an AU Jess fic told from two POVs. It's light on the Lit because I introduced a new character and it's basically about what Jess' life and relationships could have been like if he and Rory had broken up mid-season 3. Reviews are love.
1. Her name's Casey Harper

The flimsy paper fluttered gently as it was blue-tacked it to the window of Luke's Diner. Jess Mariano stepped back to admire his handiwork, running his hand through his unruly, thick dark hair. He stifled a yawn and went back to pouring coffee for his uncle's customers as the words on the poster pronounced **"Help wanted. Urgent. Apply within."** and waited to change his life forever.

~*~

A few days later, news reached the diner-via Babette and Miss Patty, as usual- that there were some new people in town. Lorelai was, of course, overly excited about meeting them and Luke was his usual grumpy self. Jess didn't really think anything of it. He never paid much attention to the town gossips anyway, he always thought that the news they had was pointless and uninteresting, a view not shared by his girlfriend, Rory, who was just as hyper as her mother about any small town goings-on.

Rory had come into the diner that morning to get her usual cup of coffee. She was wearing her Chilton uniform and Jess almost spilt boiling hot coffee all over her in an attempt to get to her as quickly as possibly and still look cool in that effortless James Dean way that he had down so well. She laughed at him whilst drinking her coffee and complaining about a calculus test that she hadn't studied enough for. He was only half listening-Rory studied too much for all her tests in his opinion. She drained her coffee as he explained for the thousandth time that he wasn't going to school that day because Luke needed some extra help in the diner. He was kind of hoping that Rory would take the hint and apply for the job so he could spend more time with her but so far she had remained dense.

Just as she was kissing him goodbye, a girl walked through the door and looked around. Jess quickly pushed Rory off his face, telling her that she would miss her bus if she didn't leave asap. When she had left-grudgingly-he studied the girl who had just come in. She was about 5"6, slim and wearing skinny jeans and a tight Rolling Stones tee. She had short, messy dark brown hair and was looking at him quizzically, which was when he realised that she had asked him a question. "Sorry," he muttered, whilst trying to work out the exact colour of her eyes-_"like dark chocolate,"_ he thought-"what did you say?"

She smiled at him, showing dazzlingly white teeth and making her face even more beautiful.

"That's ok. I suppose I should've figured that you wouldn't be listening. She's pretty." The girl laughed-a light, tinkling sound that reached all the way up to her stunning eyes and made them sparkle. Jess finally realised that she was talking about Rory and mumbled something incoherent in reply.

"Anyway," she continued brightly, "I'm looking for Luke Danes, you wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you?"

~*~

"Her name's Casey Harper," came Luke's voice from the kitchen. "Apparently her family moved away from here when she was two, but I don't remember them."

"Huh. You learn something new every day!"

"*Anyway*, she's gonna take the job in exchange for somewhere to stay."

"How old is she?"

"Your age. So I want you to look out for her, ok?"

"Sure thing, boss."

"And, Jess? Cut it out with the sarcasm for a few days, ok? We don't wanna scare the poor girl!"

"I'll see what I can do but I'm making no promises. Besides, if she can survive my sarcasm and your people skills then we'll *really* find out what she's made of, won't we?"

"Jess…"

~*~

"Are (kiss). You (kiss). Kidding (kiss)? I love meeting new people, Jess!"

"Yeah but I don't have a clue what she's like. For all I know, she could be Sharon Stone in, 'Fatal Attraction' or Meg Ryan in, 'When Harry Met Sally'!"

"Well then, I promise that if I see her boiling any bunnies or faking it in a café, I'll back away quickly!" laughed Rory as she digested the images and gave Jess enough time to realise what he had just said.

"Yeah, I guess…but if I'm right, you'll be sorry!" he laughed, slipping his arm around her and kissing her.

~*~

His afternoon with Rory and Casey having gone well (he had introduced her to Taylor and she had resisted the urge to strangle him so he assumed this was good), Jess decided to go back to the diner and re-read his favourite Hemmingway novel, but when he opened the apartment door, the light was on and Casey was sat cross-legged on the blow-up bed, singing along to _"Suffragette City"_ with her nose stuck into _"Pride and Prejudice"_. She was so absorbed in her reading and music that she didn't notice him coming in and only looked up when the refrigerator door clicked loudly after he had retrieved a soda from its depths.

"Hey," she breathed, flashing her sparkling smile at him-it just wasn't fair when she did that, he thought to himself.

"Hey. Good book?"

"You should know," she giggled softly. "It's yours, and very well thumbed by the looks of it."

She flicked through the pages thoughtfully as he took in the measure of her. He liked her more and more each time he saw her and it worried him. She took his breath away and he was reminded of how it had been Rory at the beginning every time his heart beat faster and he had to shake himself back into reality.


	2. So this is what freedom feels like, huh?

"I'm leaving now and I'm never coming back! You got that? Never! If you can't accept me for who I am then you can go to hell!"

The door slammed with slightly less force than she had intended and she sighed softly as she fought back the tears that threatened to break her resolve and send her flying back through the forbidding door she had just left behind.

Casey Harper heaved her overly full backpack further onto her shoulder and set out to explore her surroundings. It had only been a week or so since her parents had moved her back to Stars Hollow-the place of her birth-but the argument that had led to the hastily packed bag on her shoulder had been building for a long time.

"So…" she mused. "This is what freedom feels like, huh?"

She ruffled her short hair as she made a quick checklist in her head. First things first, she would need a steady job and a place to live…As if in answer to her prayer, she caught sight of a flimsy sign in the window of Luke's Diner, asking-no, begging-for help. She took a deep breath, set a sparkling smile on her face and walked confidently through the door, which tinkled lightly as she entered. She took in her surroundings and her gaze finally landed on a couple near the large bay window. The girl was wearing a Chilton uniform and Casey shuddered, thinking of her time in the old prep school, but the boy was holding a half-full coffee pot so he seemed to be a promising place to start.

The boy pushed his girlfriend off his face (where she seemed to be glued) and chided her for making herself late for her bus. He turned and scrutinised Casey. She took a sharp in-take of breath as she saw him properly.

"Wow," she breathed quietly.

The boy was, at a guess, about 5"9, with unruly dark hair, deep brown eyes and an amazing crooked smile. He was perfect.

"_Right,"_ she thought to herself. _"Piece of cake!"_

Her false confidence bolstered her slightly and she set her most dazzling smile on her face and proceeded to ask her question.

"Hi," she said brightly.

"_Ok, good start…now say something else you stupid girl!"_ she thought angrily.

"Um, do you know where I can find Luke Danes?"

She waited patiently for an answer but the boy was still stood there, staring at her. Was he stupid? She looked at him quizzically and it finally seemed to dawn on him that she'd been speaking.

"Sorry," he muttered in a thick New York accent. "What did you say?"

Her face fell but she hid it quickly.

"That's ok. I suppose I should've figured that you wouldn't be listening. She's pretty."

She forced a laugh-it sounded fake but she hoped he wouldn't notice.

He mumbled something she couldn't quite catch in reply and she repeated her question.

"Anyway, I'm looking for Luke Danes, you wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you?"

~*~

"_Oh, god,"_ Casey thought to herself as she looked at them. _"It's like something from a Hallmark card!"_

Rory and Jess were stood there in the snow as they had been for the past ten minutes. They'd evidently been waiting for her and had decided to fill their time by doing something less than constructive-_"Seeing how long they could be glued to each others' faces without feeling the need to breathe, apparently,"_ she thought spitefully. Casey took a deep breath and breezed over to them. She tapped Jess lightly on the shoulder and he finally struggled away from Rory's stronghold.

"Oh, um, sorry." He had the grace to look sheepish. "Been waiting long?"

"Not really," she said cheerfully, whilst inwardly muttering, _"Thank god!"_

"So, um, I was thinking we could take you on a grand tour of the famous Stars Hollow, maybe check in at Weston's, get a slice of pie," asked Rory chirpily. "That sound ok, Casey?"

"Sure, why not."

"Oh no…" Jess blanched. "Uh, Rory, you might wanna get Casey out of here…"

"Wh-?"

"Just do it!"

"Oh crap, it's Taylor…"

"Well hello there, young lady," called a friendly-seeming voice from across the road. It belonged to a balding man with a greying beard. He looked overly jolly but there was an almost malicious glint in his eyes-"Like an evil Santa", thought Casey.

"I am Taylor Doose and, as representative of this town, I'd like to welcome you to Stars Hollow". He looked thoroughly pleased with himself as he delivered his greeting.

Jess bridled. "She's already been 'welcomed' Taylor, what did you think we were doing? Luring her away to listen to some *evil rock music*?"

But Taylor was looking at Casey as if Jess hadn't spoken.

"You should know, my dear, that there are a lot of rules in this town that must be abided by and you want to make sure not to fall into the wrong crowd. There are some hooligans in this town who need dealing with," he continued, eyeing Jess meaningfully, "and we don't want you to become one of them."

"She's fine Taylor. Now, we'd *love* to stay and chat but then we'd be late for Bible Club. Run along now won't you?"

"Now see hear, Jess…"

But Jess had already taken Casey's arm and was steering her in the opposite direction as Taylor's voice tailed off in the wind.

"That's our Town Selectman," said Rory.

"Seems like a fun guy," she replied sarcastically.

"Yeah, this town's just a laugh-a-minute," Jess muttered.

~*~

The day could not have been any more twee, although it probably didn't help that she had spent the day imagining ways to make Rory shut up-some of them had been pretty inventive. At least she has the guts to recognise her jealousy-Rory had Jess, she didn't and apparently that triggered the green-eyed monster, which was, even now, gnawing away at her stomach.

When she got back to the apartment, she decided to take a shower and wash the horrible day off her. She turned the stereo up as loud as it would go, drowning her thoughts in Bowie.

Jess finally turned up after a few hours and went straight to the refridgerator to retrieve a soda. She pretended not to notice and shoved her nose into the tattered copy of _"Pride and Prejudice"_ that she had found lying on the table, bearing the hallmark "Property of Jess Mariano". She looked up as the door clicked and officially announced his presence.

"Hey," she breathed. She couldn't stop herself from smiling at him.

"Hey. Good book?"

"You should know," she giggled sheepishly. "It's yours, and very well thumbed by the looks of it."

"She flicked through the yellowing pages thoughtfully, while all the time aware of his intense stare on her face. She felt her cheeks warm slightly and realised that she was blushing.

"_Way to make it obvious, Casey,"_ she thought angrily, embarrassed that she had shown her feelings for him all too clearly.

"Wham bam thank you mam!" they sang, following the music together as Jess sat down next to her.


	3. Teasing

"So I've got an interview for a recording session today…"

"Oh wow, Case! That's awesome!"

He smiled inwardly at the knowledge that he was the only one who was allowed to call her that-_"It has to mean *something*, right?"_ he thought hopefully, before remembering that he already had a girlfriend.

"Yeah, it is," she smiled. "After today I might actually be considered a real musician!"

"You already are, Case," he said affectionately.

Her smile warmed and a deep blush spread across her cheeks-he always loved it when she did that.

"I thought I told you not to call me that," she teased.

"It may have been mentioned."

She pulled her tongue.

"Mature."

"What can I say, you bring out the best in me, Jess."

"_Still teasing,"_ he thought happily.

"So," she said, suddenly serious.

"Uh oh," he muttered.

"No uh oh, I was just gonna ask if you were still going to California this summer."

"Yeah, I wanna meet Jimmy."

"But you're coming back, right?"

"What would I do for entertainment if I didn't?"

Teasing again now-a defensive façade because he could see himself confiding everything in this girl.

"Jess Mariano, get down here right now!"

"Uh oh, you'd better go, the missus demands your presence!" she laughed.

"I wish you wouldn't call her that."

"Well you're practically an old married couple already!" She laughed again-it sounded fake.

"Besides, you keep calling me Case so I've gotta get you back somehow!"

"I'll be referring to you as *head*case in a minute if you don't shut up!"

"Ooh, that touched a nerve! Go on, go! You're gonna be late and I don't wanna incur Rory's wrath any more than I have to!"

"You shouldn't mess with her head like you do."

"Why? I've seen her withering stare and I've gotta tell you, it ain't up to much!"

"Jess! Don't make me come up there!"

"Go!" she laughed, as she pushed him through the door and down the stairs.

~*~

"So you're meeting me at Lane's later, right?"

"Hmm…sure," he muttered, not really having any idea what he was agreeing to-he had tuned her out about half an hour ago.

"Jess, are you even listening to me?"

"'Course."

"Sure you're not gonna tell me where you're going?"

"Yup."

"Could you *be* any more monosyllabic?!"

"Probably."

He pecked her on the cheek nonchalantly and sauntered off.

"I love you!" she called after him.

"Yeah. You too," he shouted carelessly back over his shoulder. "Bye, Ror."

~*~

He had no idea where he was going, he was just walking. Then he heard it, drifting from a third storey window on Peach Street-the strum of an acoustic guitar and the soft lyrics of "Romeo and Juliet" (the Dire Straits version, of course-she was too cool to play a cover).

Her calming vocals hit him like a brick wall of realisation and suddenly he was running.

He flung the door open dramatically and there she was, wearing her favourite blue summer dress and a shocked expression.

"Jess."

The way she spoke his name was like coming home and he let it wash over him. Until,

"Does Rory know you're here?"

"No."

"So what are you doing here?"

"You've been waiting for this recording gig for as long as I've known you-it felt wrong that I wasn't there to see you live your dream."

"So you're here as a friend, then?"

She sounded disappointed.

"Friend…sure."

"Jess…" This was dangerous territory and they both knew it.

He stepped a little closer as she put her guitar down.

She ran her hand through his hair. "Crazy boy."

"Only when I'm around you," he whispered, tracing her bottom lip with his little finger.

"What are we doing?"

"I don't know. Feels right, though."

And he bent his head and kissed her softly, but firmly on her trembling lips.

~*~

"I'm leaving early."


	4. From here to eternity

"I got it! Jess, I got it!"

Without stopping to think, she flung herself into his arms, knocking him back with the full force of her hug.

"Whoa! Whoa, slow down, Case! Got what?"

"The recording gig! I've literally just got off the phone!"-_"And you're the only person I wanted to tell,"_ she thought.

"I knew you could do it, Case!" he smiled, wrapping his arms around her.

She blushed warmly as he used her pet name but the moment was short-lived as from behind them came a disapproving,

"Ahem!"

"What's up, Ror?"

At the sound of his girlfriend's name, she immediately pulled her head away from Jess' warm chest and turned around. Sure enough, there was Rory, hands on her hips and a withering expression fixed on her face.

"Shit!" she heard Jess curse under his breath.

"What's up," she mimicked, "is that you're having this lovely little 'From Here to Eternity' moment right in front of my food and I'm not particularly keen on cold fries."

"Jeez, Ror! Lighten up!"

"Yeah, you're right, sorry. Jess, sweetie, would you mind getting me a soda?"

"Uh, sure."

Casey could tell that he was just as nonplussed as her about Rory's sudden change of mood but he went to hunt down a soda anyway.

She found her explanation a few seconds later. Rory was glaring at her with a face like thunder.

"Problem, Rory?" she asked, ruffled.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, there is! I realise that you're still relatively new to this town and you're around Jess a lot because of your jobs but aside from the required daily pleasantries, I don't want you talking to my boyfriend at all!"

"Excuse me?!"

"You heard me. Now, it's very sad that you can't get a guy of your own but although I sympathise with you, that doesn't give you the right to try and dig your claws into Jess, understand?"

"Do you even *hear* yourself?!"

"Perfectly, and Jess would agree with me!"

"What would I agree with?" said Jess as he appeared at the foot of the stairs.

"That Luke's burgers are the best," replied Rory innocently.

~*~

The door swing theatrically on its hinges and there he was, standing in the doorway and staring at her like he hadn't seen her in years.

"Jess."

She just had to say his name and convince herself that it was really him and not some sick, twisted form of wishful thinking. He didn't reply but smiled his perfect crooked smile at her.

Something snapped inside her. A battle had been raging in her mind-half of her wanted to fall into his arms but the more honest part of her kept, rather annoyingly, reminding her that he already had a girlfriend and that this perfect smile belonged to Rory, not her.

She took a deep breath, drinking in the sight of him, and decided to do the right thing.

"Does Rory know you're here?"

"No."

Crap. This was her cue to send him away but she couldn't help her curiosity.

"So what are you doing here?"

"You've been waiting for this recording gig for as long as I've known you, it felt wrong that I wasn't there to see you live your dream."

"So you're here as a friend, then?"

She had to check but anyone could have heard the disappointment in her voice.

"Friend…sure."

"_Dangerous, Casey!"_ she thought warily and yet she found herself saying his name again, more affectionately this time. She put her guitar down and he stepped closer to her. She could feel the warmth of his skin from that distance.

She pulled her fingers through his curls-she had always wondered how it would feel to be able to do that.

"Crazy boy," she whispered softly.

"Only when I'm around you."

He traced her bottom lip with his little finger. She shivered and wondered if this was going too fast.

"What are we doing?" she asked, puzzled by the swift change in their relationship.

"I don't know. Feels right though."

It was his decisive tone that he only used when he knew exactly what he wanted and just how much he was willing to fight for it.

And with that, he bent his head and kissed her. She closed her eyes and dissolved into the unique sensation of his touch. His taste. His smell. His kiss.

Their first kiss.

~*~

"I've got to stay away from you."


	5. She's with Dean now

Jess stepped off the rickety bus and into the watery sunlight. To the residents of Stars Hollow, this was the height of summer. He knew differently.

That summer in California had been the best and worst of his life. One huge summer-long juxtaposition of crazy. He'd got to meet his dad, which had worked out better than either of them had expected. It had also kept him away from Rory, who was becoming increasingly clingy.

The one major negative was that he hadn't seen Casey in over a month. He hadn't even heard from her and he cursed Rory for telling her to stay away from him.

He ran to the diner, heaving his heavy duffel bag onto his back. He had to see her. The bell above the door clanged loudly as he bolted through the door, but he stopped suddenly when he saw an unfamiliar sight stood by the cash register.

Luke tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Nice of you to announce yourself, Jess!"

"What the hell is Dean doing here?"

Dean Forrester-Rory's ex-boyfriend and his arch-rival. Jess despised him.

"Um…" Luke hesitated and just at that moment, Casey bounded down the stairs. Jess' mouth fell open. She was even more perfect than he had remembered.

He made a beeline for her but she hadn't even seen him. She was too busy staring at Dean.

"Hey, beautiful," he said when he saw her.

"Hey yourself."

"Ready to go?" he asked her.

"Not just yet…"

She leaned over the counter and kissed him.

"Now I am," she smiled before shouting, "Luke? I'm taking my break now!"

They rushed out of the door, fingers interlocked.

Jess turned to Luke.

"You have *got* to be kidding me!"

"What can I say, Jess? She's with Dean now."

~*~

Everywhere he went, people were talking about the new Town Couple: Casey and Dean. Didn't they look sweet together? Weren't they just perfect? Yada yada yada. Sometimes it felt like every time he turned a corner, they were there, holding hands or kissing or just sat together, gazing into each other's eyes. He felt like asking someone to pass the bucket. He even caught Dean running his fingers through her hair and felt genuinely sick. It should have been him!

~*~

"Your hair's longer."

"Jess…"

"I like it. Suits you."

"Jess…"

"So, you and Dean, huh?"

"Yeah."

"He makes you happy?"

"Yeah."

"Liar."

"Jess…"

"If you were really happy with him, you wouldn't sound so damn guilty right now."

"We shouldn't be having this conversation, Jess."

"Yeah? Why's that, huh? Was it too much for you to wait for me to come back for you?" he burst out.

"Oh, I'm sorry, was that what you were doing? I must have missed that when I saw you with your tongue stuck down Rory's throat yesterday!"

"What was the point of dumping her when you were too busy with Mister Frankenstein-scowl-bag-boy?!"

"I waited, Jess! But *nothing*! No note, call, wish-you-were-here postcard, smoke signal or even a damn fruit basket!"

"You never contacted me either! How the hell was I supposed to know what was going on with us?!"

"I would've thought it was obvious how I felt about you!"

"So what now?"

"Are you still with Rory?"

He hesitated. He couldn't answer.  
"Not a difficult question, Jess. Yes or no. Are you still with Rory?"

"Yes," he sighed.

"Then I'm still with Dean and this conversation is over."

The apartment door snapped open and Luke came in, looking flustered.

"Haven't you guys ever heard of keeping it down?" he shouted. "I've got a diner full of people down there who just heard every charming little word you just said!"

"Is…?" Casey started.

"Yeah, he's down there."

Jess' smile was triumphant.

"Don't you go looking so damn pleased with yourself," Luke chided. "Rory's there too."

"Crap."

"Every word?"

"Every word."

~*~

"Well that was suitably hellish."

"Why *exactly* did you feel the need to open your big mouth?!"

"Me? It's you who was going on about your feelings for me!"

"You're such an arrogant pig sometimes, Jess!"

"Oink."

He could see that she was fighting back laughter because she was nipping at her bottom lip with her teeth-it was so damn cute when she did that, it just wasn't fair!

Eventually her sense of humour won the battle against anger and she burst out laughing.

"That…Was…The…*Worst*…Pig…Impression…I…Have…Ever…Heard!" she choked out between giggles.

"Hey, I never said I was an expert on farm animals!" he laughed, before stepping forward and lacing his fingers in-between hers.

"So," he murmured into her hair. "I'm not with Rory anymore…"

"And I'm not with Dean…"

"So where does that leave us?"

"Well that depends…"

"On what?" he asked, puzzled.

"This."

She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him tentatively.

"Well, I think that clears everything up," he said, smiling.


End file.
